Human intervention against drought in Seyhan River Basin, Turkey

Abstract

Impacts of a drought on society and hydrological processes cover a wide range of issues such as environment, economy, management and water structures. Here we present a case study addressing challenges in water management under drought conditions and human influence by focusing on developing a storyline for future reflections. With rich and fertile lands, the Seyhan River Basin in Turkey has an international importance for agricultural production as large quantities of vegetables are exported globally. The basin was exposed to an extreme drought at various intensities in the year 2008 when the river basin received the lowest precipitation ever recorded. The drought reduced total water availability throughout the river basin by triggering a series of cascading impacts such as reducing agricultural yield, increasing food prices, adversely affecting farmers’ income, leading a migration of regional farmers from rural regions toward urban centers. The migration caused population growth in big cities, alterations in water consumption habits by increasing socioeconomic development, and growth in urbanization and water-dependent sectors. These cascading impacts of the drought showed that the event indirectly fed back to affect the river basin hydrology as well. In order to avoid or minimize drought impacts, decision-makers and water managers implemented a number of water supply techniques and adopted temporary management policies, which resulted in increasing and unsustainable water demand under drought conditions. The paradoxical intervention can only mitigate negative effects of drought at short term but we need long-term drought mitigation measures. In addition, we understood that such short-term interventions should be avoided in the absence of an effective water management plan under drought conditions. An effective management plan requires that water managers, city planners, and all related governance levels interpret solutions together without challenging the entire system.